As Appalachian coal production continues its drastic decline, West Virginia’s coal-producing counties are not only losing people as lifelong residents are forced to flee their homes in order to find work, but in many cases, they’re also relinquishing millions of dollars from their budgets.

As Appalachian coal production continues its drastic decline, West Virginia’s coal-producing counties are not only losing people as lifelong residents are forced to flee their homes in order to find work, but in many cases, they’re also relinquishing millions of dollars from their budgets.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new rule set for approval by the
North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission requiring some disclosure of
chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing has been withdrawn at the
request of industry giant Halliburton.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Thursday that the state commission had been set to vote on the new rule
Friday. The standard spells out which chemicals operators must publicly
disclose when drilling natural gas wells.

But commissioners were
surprised to learn the rule was pulled from their agenda last minute so
that it could be reworked by staff at the North Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural Resources. The commission had already approved
the standard in committee.

"Is this the way the commission is
going to work?" asked Commissioner Charlotte Mitchell, a Raleigh lawyer.
"There seem to be conversations happening offline and not in public
about this rule that has already come out of committee."

Lawyers
for Halliburton say regulations requiring disclosure of chemicals pumped
into the ground during drilling would reveal trade secrets. Landowners
and environmentalists, pushing for public disclosure, worry about the
potential for groundwater and well contamination.

Hydraulic
fracturing, which is also called fracking, uses dozens of chemicals,
ranging from products used as food additives to industrial toxins and
carcinogens. The additives are used to maintain fluid consistency,
prevent well corrosion and to kill bacteria.

North Carolina is
believed to have a small region with shale gas, concentrated around Lee,
Chatham and Moore counties. But the precise amount of gas in the ground
will not be known until drillers sink test wells.

The
developments raise questions about the independence and integrity of the
state commission, a panel created by the legislature last year to
create safety rules for shale gas exploration. Hydraulic fracturing
refers to fracturing shale rock formations using high-pressure water and
chemicals to release the natural gas trapped inside.

The
rule-writing panel is under intense pressure from the
Republican-controlled legislature to create rules that don't discourage
hydraulic fracturing and energy exploration. Those pressures were
exposed in full view this year when legislation was proposed to remove
two members from the commission, including the state geologist.

The
chemical disclosure rule, as approved March 25 by the commission's
Environmental Standards Committee, would exempt certain chemicals from
public disclosure if the company demonstrated they are trade secrets.
But the rule is contentious because it would require operators to submit
those trade secrets under seal to the N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, in case the data is needed to treat injuries
during an emergency.

Agency officials, however, don't want to keep
sensitive data on file because the information is a likely target for
legal challenges. And Halliburton doesn't want the government to
safe-keep proprietary information that competitors could try to pry
loose under freedom of information laws.

Halliburton's local
lawyer, D. Bowen Heath of the McGuireWoods firm in Raleigh, referred
questions to the Texas corporation's media department. Halliburton
spokeswoman Susie McMichael said by email that key people were in
meetings or traveling.

Mitch Gillespie, assistant secretary at
DENR, later confirmed that the agency and Halliburton don't want the
government safekeeping sensitive information, but declined to elaborate.

"The process is ongoing," he said.

Commissioner
Amy Pickle, state policy program director at Duke University's Nicholas
Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, was also frustrated that
the commission's work is subject to veto by the energy industry.

"I'm
very sensitive to surprising the public, the (lack of ) transparency,
and wasting time," Pickle said. "This rule does not have full support in
conversations that are taking place outside this process."